At the beginning of any website project, we sit with our clients and go to discuss the primary and secondary goals for their desired websites. From then, our web designers then consider how to accomplish those goals from a functionality perspective. This is where our designers and the client find common ground and are on the same page regarding the task at hand. These meetings are critical to ensuring everyone involved is on the same page when it comes to changes and how they are implemented.
Through using this process, we manage to deal with our clients in a manner that sees concise feedback, thus creating a smooth relationship. Well, of course, that is not always the case which leads us to the topic of this blog.
As a web design and development agency, our job is to create remarkable web solutions for our clients. The client’s role in all this is probably the more laborious task as it is to provide us with feedback when the need arises, and of course the better the feedback given, the smoother the whole process becomes. The question is, then how do you as a client give that “better” feedback?
When working with a team, it is easy for conflicting opinions to arise, which can lead to losing sight of the main objective when each person contributes their individual preferences and viewpoints. As a website design agency, it’s not our job to please everyone, so the team must focus solely on the components with the most reasoning. If one person says “I don’t like the font”, that won’t help the designer decide what the entire group or even the brand’s customers want. However, if the group as a whole agrees that the font “too simple”, or “it won’t appeal to the customers”, then it is an issue to bring up with us the designers. Otherwise, don’t let personal opinions get in the way of the overall design goal.
Before the design phase begins, it’s critical to ensure any specific wants/needs are communicated.
These could be things like coordinating with an existing brand or making an intentional departure from a previous design. In numerous cases, you might want creativity around how to best display your messaging clearly, both aesthetically and through text but not around how to reinvent the way a user expects a website to work. If you’re finding that your feedback is focused on coming up with never-before-seen ways to present information – be wary as there is no point in redesigning the wheel.
We all know the statement “The customer is always right”. That’s the motto we live by at Perfect Circle; however, there is a place and a time for it. When working with our web designers, you need to remember that they are on your team; it’s a partnership between two sides and both are working on a path to create a great design, one that will work great for your organization and its audience. It’s easy to get consumed by the deadlines and the challenges faced during a project, but that’s no excuse to scorn a designer if you don’t like areas of the design. Follow the above tips, and we can say that there is a very high likelihood you will be proud of the end result, and you will even enjoy the process; while you may end up retaining that us for years to come. This has worked great for us, and the clients who follow the above tips are the happiest. And if the client is happy, we are happy too!
In closing, remember to always keep your audience and the goals for your site in mind when reviewing design concepts. Provide direct, clear feedback with explanations where necessary. If things don’t seem right, speak up right away. Following these tips will help your website design project run smoothly and help that website be more of a useful marketing tool for your business.
At the beginning of any website project, we sit with our clients and go to discuss the primary and secondary goals for their desired websites.